What’s the typical profile of an energy drink consumer in the US, and how much are they drinking? Researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health analyzed data from a national health survey to get some answers.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) sent a letter to the FDA yesterday, asking the agency to take enforcement action against 15 companies selling products as dietary supplements to help smokers quit.
The recent slew of warning letters on DMHA and phenibut signals a new scrutiny on the part of FDA of ingredient status without reference to other issues, says an attorney with a long history in the field.
New consumer research shows that brand loyalty is a key element in success in the dietary supplement industry. And much of what consumers associate with brands has to do with packaging.
The uncertain nature of ingredients in some sports supplements and the florid claims on some of these products creates risk for athletes and warfighters, attendees at a recent conference were told.
The US Food and Drug Administration issued 11 warning letters yesterday to companies that have non NDI ingredients in their products. Eight of the warning letters concerned DMHA, with the other three concerned phenibut.
Nu Skin China has formed a focus group, led by the firm's country CEO, to look into the death of a 34-year-old Chinese woman who died from organ failure after allegedly refusing medical treatment for flu and fever, and instead insisting on drinking...
At the Natural Products Expo West show this year, we caught up with the chief strategy and innovation officer at legacy supplement brand Nature’s Way to talk about consumer trends, CBD, and the body of laws that regulate supplements.
While new clinical trial data seems to suggest certain supplements will not help the prevention of depression, one expert in the relationship between nutrition and mood has warned that the study was 'limited' and some coverage may be over-stating...
A survey by Trust Transparency Center has found that despite the cool reception the concept of supplementation historically has received from organizations of dietitians, a majority of the practitioners themselves use dietary supplements regularly.
Network marketing giant Herbalife reported a 10% full year net sales rise in its year-end earnings statement. The company recorded just a shade under $5 billion in yearly sales.
The words ‘detox’ and ‘cleanse,’ when used with supplements or juices or diets, have strong market appeal. But some experts from the dietary supplement industry believe it’s time to move away from those words.
A report outlines a series of recommendations that attempt to address the decline in public trust regarding nutritional science and the expanding variety of information sources.
A commitment to transparency, which was on display at the Sports Nutrition Summit this week in San Diego, is what drives NutraIngredients-USA’s coverage decisions.
As the dietary supplement industry evolves, most claims are now more aligned with the underlying science. But there is still a penumbra of outliers, with new offenders popping up by the day.
A recent poll conducted for the American Osteopathic Association reached some surprising conclusions, which a spokesman for the group used to justify the view that supplement users are wasting their money. Industry stakeholders said some of the poll’s...
A Red Bull cartoon advert has been banned for implying that the energy drink could increase focus and concentration in the workplace: claims that were not authorised on the EU Register.
Journal chief editors cite "unavailability of original data and records, and ambiguous identification of samples and treatments" as to why the publication retracted six papers by a nutritional researcher — his 12th in total.
The supplement industry has an opportunity to make a powerful case about its self regulatory capabilities during the interregnum of federal regulatory authority imposed by the budget impasse.
The multi-level marketing giant Herbalife announced that CEO Richard Goudis resigned due to comments on “expense-related policies and business practices,” the company said in a press release.
By George Paraskevakos, Executive Director, International Probiotics Association (IPA)
As I celebrated three years at IPA in April, I couldn’t help but reflect on the shape the industry has taken. Going from being sparingly mentioned in the press and fast forward to today and it is almost every other week we see probiotics in the headlines....
By Steve Mister, president/CEO of the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN)
Unless you’ve been living in a tree, most stakeholders in the dietary supplement industry have heard of the Supplement OWL. Please pardon the pun, but “hoo” hasn’t?
By Ellen Schutt, Executive Director, GOED (Global Organization for EPA & DHA Omega-3)
New science, developments in contaminant regulations, a new conversation around micro- and nanoplastics, and challenges on the regulatory front: In this guest article, Ellen Schutt, Executive Director of GOED, looks back on a very busy 2018 in the omega-3...
Most dietary supplement consumers expect a product to have scientific backing, so putting science at the forefront of a marketing or branding campaign just comes off as ‘noise,’ said one branding expert.
Two new large-scale and well-conducted clinical trials found that a short course of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG or L. rhamnosus R0011 plus L. helveticus R0052 did not improve gastroenteritis symptoms in children.
From the 2018 midterm election results to the rise of CBD, Michael McGuffin, president of the American Herbal Products Association, talks about how the association is approaching the most recent changes in the supplements space.
Four trade associations have sent out warnings to the public regarding ‘phenibut,’ which they say is a dangerous substance illegally posing as a dietary supplement.
The Nagoya Protocol, the big changes coming for Lactobacillus classification, and how to boost your chances of success with an NDI notification were just some of the topic covered during the third annual IPA Workshop in DC.
As the Supplement OWL approaches 12,000 labels in its Tier 1 product label library, the Council for Responsible has announced a new pilot program to build out Tier 2, which will be known as the Commercial Data Exchange, or CDX.
A paper that published this morning in the JAMA Network Open journal found that FDA had identified 776 adulterated dietary supplements in a 10-year period ending in 2016. As most of these products were tainted with drugs, calling them ‘supplements’ was...
Does DHSEA contain within it the seeds of the industry’s downfall? The freewheeling marketplace this regulation created has placed the barriers to entry so low that less than reputable companies have room to maneuver, creating risk for the whole industry.
Are supplements getting better? It’s a bit of a tricky question when applied to probiotics, as the ingredients are relatively new to the market. There are many examples of quality improvements within this category, but it exhibits some features that are...
Progress on the Supplement Safety & Compliance Initiative has included pilot audits and a revamped mobile app for farmers, an executive with one of the groups behind the initiatve has said.
Results from an omega-3 study found a positive link between treatment using EPA and cardiovascular outcomes. It was backed by pharmaceutical company Amarin, which enjoyed a 300% surge in shares after the study results were announced.
Supplement critic Dr Pieter Cohen has trained his sights on probiotics for a new opinion paper, stating that the sector has spun hundreds of small studies favorably and also practices creative advertising.
Like all emerging industries, sports nutrition thrives on innovation and a degree of risk-taking that has seen the likes of ketone-based drinks, probiotics and human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) emerge as credible mainstream products.
A new BBC article dismisses the benefits of probiotics because a study failed to find colonization. It is a serious mistake to confuse colonization with efficacy and we need to get this message across to consumers.
A recent study reported something very impressive: A decade after the end of a randomized clinical trial, the benefits of dietary supplementation not only persisted, but seemed to be getting bigger. So why are we not talking about this more?
A recent mainstream press article that calls vitamin D research into question is a low blow that hinges on an attack on a prominent researcher’s character rather than a sober assessment of the science behind the nutrient, experts say.
HerbalGram has grown into one of the world’s most influential herbal medicine journals as it celebrates its 35th anniversary. Founder Mark Blumenthal says he’s certain he made the right decision almost 30 years ago to give the publication away.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has made available a reference infographic for athletes and dietary supplement users to help decide whether to take or avoid a supplement.
NutraChampion winner Judy Blatman said she has seen a maturation of the dietary supplement industry in her time at the Council for Responsible Nutrition and sees great potential for the future.
Reaction continues to roll in on the recent Cochrane review that found little evidence supporting the cardiovascular benefits of omega-3s. Experts questioned the underlying assumptions in how the review was put together.
From profiling their ingredient suppliers to setting up codes consumers can look up, supplement brands are using transparency to win over consumer trust.
The founders of New Chapter have severed their relationship with Procter & Gamble because they said “financial pressures to accelerate profits” meant they could no longer in good conscience continue to associate themselves with the brand.
